In 1 Kings 12, I was reminded of the dangers of following counterfeit gods, and in 1 Kings 13, I’m reminded of the dangers of following counterfeit Christians. I’m afraid that all too often Christians trust whatever a professing Christian author, blogger, podcaster, or pastor says, without giving it serious thought or prayer. We need to “test everything; hold fast what is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21 ESV)
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
1 John 4:1 ESV
Remember that “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16) It’s so important to know the Word. All the Word. Not just John 3:16 and Genesis 1:1. So that we can discern truth from error
I’m praying Ephesians 1:17 for you, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.”
Heavenly Father, We need Your wisdom. We need Your guidance. Please, Father, give us a hunger for Your Word. Give us an all-consuming desire for Truth in our innermost beings. May the half-truths of the world and the devil be repulsive to us. Please, Father, let us not settle for sorta, kinda, half-hearted faith, but make us passionate for a Holy Fire revival to sweep through our homes, churches, cities, and nations. For Your glory and fame we pray by the blood of Jesus Christ shed for the forgiveness of our sins. Amen.
After Solomon’s death, the kingdom of Israel was divided. Judah (and Benjamin) followed Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, while the other ten tribes of Israel followed Jeroboam, an Ephraimite who had been a hard-working servant of Solomon. Jeroboam feared that the Israelites would turn back to Rehoboam if they went to Jerusalem to worship God, so he set up counterfeit gods and counterfeit temples, counterfeit priests and counterfeit feasts.
Isn’t that just like Satan?
Satan doesn’t create his own stuff. He’s not a creator; he’s a fake trying to look like the real thing, and he copies what is true in order to draw people away from it. He disguises himself as an angel of light, and so do his followers (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
God created mankind to worship Him. When we aren’t worshipping Him, we will worship other things, created things rather than the Creator Himself.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Romans 1:18-23 ESV
There are still people all over the world who are worshipping idols, crafted objects made to resemble a supernatural being, but the majority of Americans think we’re above that. Most red-blooded Americans wouldn’t dream of bowing down to worship a golden calf or a stone Buddha. Oh, friends, but we are worshipping all kinds of counterfeit gods. We worship at the altars of money, fame, and sex. We worship at the altars of food, fame, fortune, and phones. We worship at the altars of Amazon, Facebook, and YouTube. These counterfeit gods are trying to steal our allegiance from the One True God, the only one who is worthy of our worship, and we’re falling for it.
Will you pray with me?
Heavenly Father, You alone are worthy of our worship. You are the one who created the sun, moon and stars, the earth and the seas and all that is in them. You are who created me and every man, woman, and child on the face of our planet. Open our eyes to the counterfeits that we have made with our own hands, the worthless things that we are setting before our eyes day after day. Forgive us, Father. Create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us. For Your glory we pray in the Name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
Heavenly Father, Your Word warns us again and again about the importance of having a godly wife. I pray that my son will heed those warnings. Guard his heart from those who want to steal it away from You. Turn his eyes away from worthless things and focus them on Your commands. Help him to treasure Your Words that he will not be tempted to go astray. Give my son divine discernment and patience, that he will be led by Your Spirit around the pitfalls laid by the enemy of our soul who seeks to trap him in his clutches. Guide him to a woman who loves You with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength, that the two of them would be better together than they could be apart, that 1 + 1 would be 3 squared. Make the two of them a cord of three strands that cannot be easily broken with you that center strand of steel that they will both cling to through good times and bad, plenty and want, sickness and health, until their last day on earth. For Your glory and his good I pray in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen
It’s hard to imagine how much has changed in our world since I began teaching English online in December of 2018. I am so grateful for technology that allows me to have face to face conversations with people who live on the other side of the world, people who don’t live in towns full of churches and radios that freely broadcast Christian media.
Like I said one morning last month to some precious online sisters, “The great thing about living in America isn’t that we’re rich. The great thing about living in America is that we have freedom to worship our great God.” I pray that our nation would be known not for our lavish lifestyle but for our love for the Lord, not for our abundant wealth but for our abundant wisdom, not for our sports and movies and hospitals but for our kindness and integrity and generosity.
The Queen of Sheba blessed the Lord because she was impressed by King Solomon’s wisdom and wealth. I wonder, “Are other nations drawn to know and bless the Lord because of America’s wisdom and wealth?”
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, May we use our wealth to point the world to You, rather than to ourselves. Help us to remember that everything we have is a gift from Your abundant goodness. You know all things. You have all wisdom. Solomon’s wisdom didn’t come from books. It came from You. Bless our nation with wisdom. Bless Your children with wisdom, that others might be attracted to know You, the source of wisdom. For the Name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Heavenly Father, please forgive us. Forgive us. We have gone astray. We have turned from Your ways. We have forgotten You and chased after false gods. We have worshipped the creature and forsaken the Creator. We have become friends of the world and enemies of the Word. Bring us back to You. Turn our hearts back to You. Hear from Heaven and heal our land. Pour out Your Spirit on us that our hearts might again burn for You. You are worthy and You are good and You are able. Grow our faith, Lord. In the Name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
My husband and I will celebrate 30 years of marriage this winter. To some of you, that sounds like forever, but to others of you that doesn’t sound like so long. For me, it’s hard to remember life without Bill. It feels like we’ve always been together, but when I really think about it, I know that’s not true.
For whatever reason, 480 years jumped out at me in my reading.
In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the LORD.
1 Kings 6:1 ESV
480 years. Four hundred and eighty YEARS. 480 years had passed since the Lord had delivered His people out of Egypt until Solomon had begun building the temple.
As I write this, we are in the year 2024. 480 years ago it would have been 1544. 1544. Whoa! That was a long, long time ago. That was before the invention of electricity and the steam engine. That was before Beethoven was born or America was founded.
Just think about some things that happened in the 1500’s.
Copernicus published his theory that the sun, rather than the Earth, was the center of the universe.
Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe.
William Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet and King Henry VIII was the king of England.
Martin Luther wrote the Ninety-Five Theses, demanding reform in the church.
480 years is a long, long time, but it’s only a quarter of the time that has passed since Jesus walked on earth and was crucified and buried and rose from the dead, and it’s just a drop in the bucket in light of eternity.
There are only two paths in life, and everyone is on one or the other. There’s the path of eternity with God, and there’s the path of eternity without Him. The path you’re on in this life will determine your path for eternity. Jesus is the doorway you must pass through to have eternity with God. As we’re told in John 14:6, Jesus is “the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through (Him).”
Which path are you on?
How are you spending the time God is giving you now? Wisely or foolishly?
Heavenly Father, You are eternal. You are outside of time. You are without beginning and end. But the number of our breaths, and our days on earth, are numbered. One day judgment will come for each and every one of us. In fact, today could be my last day here. I don’t know, but You do. Teach me, Father, to number my days that I might have a heart of wisdom. Help me to spend my years for the things that will matter for eternity. In the Name of Jesus Christ, my Savior and Redeemer, I pray. Amen.
Number of My Days – Joni Erickson Tada and Tommy Walker
Heavenly Father, You are the giver of wisdom and justice for You are the source of them both. You are the fountain from which wisdom and justice flow. All Your ways are right. All Your ways are just and wise. Fill our nation with a love for justice and wisdom. Give our nation’s leaders a holy hunger for wisdom and justice, like You gave to king Solomon. Give our nation’s parents and pastors and teachers a desire for true wisdom and justice that they will lead our nation’s children in Your truth. We pray that as these men and women seek wisdom and justice that they would find it in You and in the pages of Your Word. Teach us, Lord, what justice and wisdom are. Show us what it means to be truly just, what true wisdom is. Grant us discernment to judge between right and wrong, truth and lies, justice and injustice. You are the standard, the plumb line, the truth by which all things and all laws, are measured, and give us a right understanding of who You are and what You have said. In the Name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, we pray. Amen.
David knows he is about to die, so he calls his son, Solomon, to him. What did David say to this son who will be the next king of Israel?
Be strong.
Show yourself a man.
Keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in His ways and keeping his commands as it is written in the Law of Moses.
Deal wisely and justly with Joab, Barzillai, and Shimei.
Now I’m not (and never will be) the king of a nation but I (like everyone else on the planet) will one day draw my last breath. If today were my last day, what final words would I want to share with my children?
What would I say to my children if today was my last day?
I love you. I’m proud of you. You are a gift to me. I’m so thankful you’re mine. God made YOU on purpose, and He has a purpose for your life. Fear not. He’s not finished yet. God is on His throne. He doesn’t save people because they’re good. They’re not. None of us are. He saves them because He is merciful and has a purpose for them. You are saved by your faith in Jesus Christ, not by your works. (Psalm 139:1-16; Romans 3:10-12; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:3-8; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Romans 6:23)
Trust the Lord with all your heart. He is good. He is wise. Turn away from evil and do good. Choose to do the hard things out of love and trust for the Lord. (Proverbs 3:5-7; Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37)
Love is both an emotion and an action. Love others as God has loved you. Bear with others. Forgive them, remembering how much God has forgiven you. He loved you while you were yet a sinner, loving you even to the point of death, death on a cross. Remember that love is patient and kind. God is patient and kind with you, and He is calling you to be patient and kind with others. Love is not arrogant, rude, boastful, or envious. Love does not insist on its own way. The Lord of the Universe humbled Himself for you, and He is calling you to humble yourself for Him and His creation. Love never ends. Love endures. Love bears all things. He has loved you with a never-ending love. Love others like that. (Colossians 3:12-13; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8; Philippians 2:1-8; Romans 5:7-8)
Children are a blessing from the Lord. Fill your home with them. Pour into them. Enjoy them. Train them up in the way they should go. Teach them diligently that they, too, will know and love the Lord. (Psalm 127:1-5; Proverbs 22:6; Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Psalm 78:1-8)
So, how about you? If today were your last day, what final words would you want to say to your children and loved ones?
Heavenly Father, How thankful I am for the hope that I have in my Savior, Jesus, who poured out His blood for me. How thankful I am to have the assurance that my last breath here on Earth is just the beginning of eternity with You. I pray that my children and grandchildren will have that assurance. I pray that You will strengthen me to be the mother and grandmother that You want me to be. Give me Your wisdom and lead me in when to speak and when to be silent. Make my words, Your words. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Make me a beacon pointing my family and my community to Him. For His Honor and for His glory I pray. Amen.
Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!
The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil.
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
– Zephaniah 3:14-17 ESV
Verse 14 tells Zion to rejoice and exult with all her heart, and then verse 17 says that the Lord rejoices and exults over Zion. Rejoice, rejoice. Exult, exult. I understand “rejoice,” but what does “exult” actually mean??? (Am I the only one who doesn’t use or understand this word?)
I looked it up in Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, as well as Etymology Online and Strong’s Concordance I learned that the English word “exult” comes from the French word “exulter” which means to rejoice exceedingly, or literally to leap about. And I learned that the Hebrew word שָׂמַח śāmaḥ means to rejoice and be glad. Ok, so “exult” means to rejoice!
Exult means to rejoice exceedingly.
So today when I read 1 Kings 1, the word “exalt” jumped out at me, “Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, ‘I will be king.’ And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him” (1 Kings 1:5 ESV) So I was off again to check the dictionary as well as Strong’s Concordance and Etymology Online. According to Merriam-Webster, exalt means to raise in rank, power, or character, to elevate or glorify. It can also mean to raise high or enhance or intensify the activity of something. That specific Hebrew word מִתְנַשֵּׂא miṯnaśśē’ is only used one other place in the Bible, “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.” (1 Chronicles 29:11 ESV) In studying the etymology of the word, I latched onto the Latin word root, altus which means high because it reminded me of the word altitude.
Exalt means to elevate, glorify, or lift high.
Jesus and his disciples had quite a lot to say about who exalts whom. I am certain that Jesus would have some harsh words for Adonijah exalting himself as king, getting for himself chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run before him (like his brother Absalom had done before him. (See 2 Samuel 15:1) It reminded me of Proverbs 27:2, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger and not your own lips.”
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 14:11 ESV)
So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you” (Hebrews 5:5 ESV)
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:10 ESV)
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, (1 Peter 5:6 ESV)
So, I’m asking myself, “What am I exulting in?” and “Who am I exalting, myself or my Lord?”
Heavenly Father, You are the source of my joy. I rejoice in You and the power of Your might. My hope and joy are in YOU. Help me, Father, to exalt YOU, to lift you HIGH, to elevate Your name, to honor You with my life. I pray that I will heed Paul’s words from Philippians 2, that I will do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count other more significant than myself, looking not only for my own interests, but also for the interests of others. For this is the example that Jesus Christ, the God-man, has given to us, that He humbled Himself even to the point of death on a cross. Therefore He was highly exactly and bestowed with the Name that is above every name, that someday ever knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. We lift You high, Father. We exalt You and magnify You for You alone are worthy of our praise. In the Name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
Take with you words and return to the LORD; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips. Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.”
I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.
Hosea 14:1-4 ESV
Return. Return. Return. It’s the call of God to His bride, Israel. It’s a call for repentance, doing an about-face, a 180, forsaking idols in favor of Yahweh, the Almighty One.
Israel will return to the Lord when she finally sees her sin for what it is, and so will we. We must recognize our rebellion against God and return to Him. The next step, as we see here, is to confess our sin to God and ask for His forgiveness. And then immediately we will commit to changing our behavior. Like Israel, “We will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands.”
True repentance looks like this.
True repentance is more than just feeling sorry or saying you’re sorry. True repentance is more than grieving the consequences of our sin. True repentance is a change of heart leading to a change in action. If your life doesn’t begin shifting away from your sin and back towards God, then you haven’t actually repented.
Heavenly Father, Bring us back to You. Turn us back to You. Heal us and bind up our wounds that we might worship You again. Wash us thoroughly. Cleanse us of our sin. Make us ready for the return of Your Son. He is coming soon, Father. We want to be ready. In the Name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Teshuvah. Return to Me.
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Teach What is Good 
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